ACLU Claims Student Punishment Too Harsh

There's a new report claiming schools across Mississippi are too harsh in punishing students for bad behavior while on school grounds.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the report examined the impact those punishments are having on students, when excessive consequences are meted out for minor offenses.

Some groups say they want change.

When Polly Windham's daughter was suspended from her Jones County school last fall, she says the punishment didn't fit the crime, especially since her daughter was the victim.

"I think it's absurd," said Windham.

Windham says her 15-year-old daughter was being bullied and a fight broke out when the girl tried to walk away.

Windham says her daughter was taken to a juvenile detention center where she spent the night and was suspended three days from school. A judge eventually threw out the case.

"It was really a traumatic experience, not only for my daughter but for me," Windham said.

It's that type of situation the Mississippi ACLU says it's trying to end. In its report 'Handcuffs on Success' the organization claims too often school districts use excessive punishment for minor and expected adolescent behavior.

"The results are alarming. They weren't surprising," said Bear Atwood, legal director for the ACLU, who says that type of extreme discipline contributes to a 'school-to-prison pipeline'.

"It doesn't mean that there shouldn't be consequences," said Atwood. "Of course we want to teach our children to behave appropriately, but arresting them and sending them to detention centers is not the way to accomplish that."

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